Welcome back to Field Notes!
August 1, 2026
Bobo Chronicles: Outing to Dracena Quarry Park. Bobo the Husky loves to explore new places. Mari gave me a tip about nearby Dracena Quarry Park. Rick, Bobo, and I visited this neighborhood park, which is nestled in a small canyon under a stand of redwood trees. We enjoyed a stroll in the deep shade, and a drink of cool water on one of the park benches. Small parks are one of the many things that I enjoy about living in the East Bay. Thanks, Mari!
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| Taking a breather under the redwoods |
August 3, 2026
Look at This Slime Mold! My brother Dave sent me a picture of this glorious lemon-yellow slime mold. He was walking on North Douglas Island, near Juneau, Alaska, and checking out the beaver ponds. I haven't identified it. Could it be a Fuligo species? If so, Wikipedia provides this information:
Fuligo is a widespread genus of plasmodial slime mold in the family Physaraceae. These organisms are protozoans rather than fungi, but for historical reasons are sometimes treated as part of mycology.
Possibly, Fuligo septica, (also known as the dog vomit slime mold or scrambled egg slime). Fascinating!
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| Lemon-yellow slime mold - species unknown (photo by Dave Harris) |
August 6, 2026
Happy Birthday to Rick! My wonderful husband just turned another year older. I think he is aghast at this bigger number, but he is just as hilarious, interesting, capable and cute as ever!
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| Contemplating the meaning of life |
August 9, 2026
Field Trip to the Ferry Building. Mari, Gaymond and I skipped the Over-the-Hills Gang hike this week and went rouge! It was such a beautiful day that we decided to take the ferry from Jack London Square to the Ferry Building instead. It's always great to get out on the water. We had some great views of the Port of Oakland, the container cranes, the underside of the Bay Bridge, and a whole variety of ships and crafts out on the water. Once we docked, we explored the Ferry Building and the Farmer's Market, and scoped out eateries for lunch.
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| Marine area along the Embarcadero |
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| Farmer's Market outside the Ferry Building |
We walked along the Embarcadero for a ways and explored some of the piers. There has been a lot of development since I last visited the area. I almost had a feeling that I was walking along some of the waterways in Europe!
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| Exploring the piers along the Embarcadero |
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| Picture postcard on the waterfront (photo by Mari) |
We returned to the Ferry Building and made our purchases at the Farmer's Market and Ferry Terminal, and ate outside in the sun (dim sum and empanadas). I picked up some empanadas to take home for the guys and Bobo the Husky, and we took the 1:05 ferry home. What a wonderful experience!
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| Intrepid explorers along the Embarcadero (photo by Gaymond) |
August 11, 2026
Visit to Far West Fungi in the Ferry Building. While at the Ferry Building, I made a point of stopping in at Far West Fungi. They have an amazing selection of seasonal fresh mushrooms, bulk dehydrated mushrooms, and smaller packages of dried mushrooms. They also sell fun fungi-related merchandise, such as mugs, dish towels, and mushroom-growing kits.
I purchased packages of dehydrated Wood Ear, Porcini, and Morel mushrooms for some future cooking projects. Stay tuned!
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| Far West Fungi at the Ferry Building (#34) |
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| Dehydrated mushrooms for sale |
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| Fresh Wood Ear mushrooms on sale |
August 15, 2026
Summer Read. I've been working through my summer reading list, and just finished "Garden of Lamentations" by Deborah Crombie (William Morrow, 2017). This is the seventeenth novel in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series set in London. In this one, a crime takes place in one of its gated neighborhood gardens. Crombie provides "A Short History of London Squares" in the back matter, which is all about the "network of enclosed garden squares winding through the city (of London) like interconnected necklaces of green". Illustrator Laura Maestro provides the endpaper map for the story, which is charming and adds dimension to the mystery. Together they make the story all the more engaging (see both the book and map here)!
August 19, 2026
Happy Birthday to Aunt Char! My wonderful aunt is turning (a bigger number) and we plan to celebrate at her open house tomorrow. I really enjoyed spending time with her and my mom in Juneau, Alaska this year (in both winter and summer), and love going places with her here in the Bay Area (or wherever we travel). I'm grateful that she lives nearby and has such a wonderful outlook on life. My cousins will be here for the birthday bash (Jen from Idaho and Chris from Arizona), so that will be the icing on the cake!
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| Two sisters in the garden of life (summer 2026) |
August 22, 2026
OTHG Hike to Marina Bay. Mari, Gaymond and I met up with the Over-the-Hills Gang hike at the Marina Bay in Richmond for the latest 55+ group hike. Marina Bay is located in the Richmond Inner Harbor, the former location of the World War II-era Kaiser Shipyards. We hiked the area a year ago, and enjoyed great views of the bay, wildlife in Meeker Slough, and proximity to multiple destinations (Marina Bay Park, Marina Bay Yacht Harbor and Yacht Club, the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, and a residential community along the shore).
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| You Are Here - with so many great options nearby! |
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| Maria Bay Park |
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| Looking across Marina Bay to the Richmond Ferry Terminal |
The sky was overcast and the temperature chilly, but we still had great views in all directions. The slough is a popular spot for birds to gather, so we had a chance to see pelicans, herons, ducks, geese, and more.
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| Surf break with Oakland in the background |
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| Meeker Slough with Albany Hill in the distance |
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| Cookie break at the half-way point |
Anthony Fisher led our bay-side hike, and provided information about flora and fauna and delicious cookies at the half-way point. Mari, Gaymond, and I finished the hike with delicious food and conversation at the nearby Anh Restaurant & Bar. These hikes are so much fun - the pace is perfect and the company is excellent. Check the website to learn more about upcoming events offered by the East Bay Regional Park District.
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| Intrepid hikers at Marina Bay (photo by Mari) |
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| Delicious lunch served family style - noodles and oxtail soup |
August 24, 2026
Flora and Fauna at Marina Bay. While at Marina Bay, we saw lots of heron, ducks, Canadian geese, and lots of gulls and shore birds. We also say a Black Oystercatcher by the shore.
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| Duck, duck, duck, goose crossing |
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| Family of ducks |
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| Black Oystercatcher (photo by Mari) |
August 28, 2026
Cooking with Mushrooms - Wood Ear. I purchased dehydrated Wood Ear mushrooms from Far West Fungi on our trip to the Ferry Building (see the August 11 entry above), and added them to a buckwheat noodle and dashi soup bowl. Wood Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae) are called jelly fungus because of their texture, but others are somewhat rubbery and gelatinous. The species grows throughout Europe and North America and is cultivated in China and East Asia. Far West Fungi grows them at their facility in Moss Landing, California.
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| Dehydrated Wood Ear Mushrooms |
This was my first experience with Wood Ears, and I was struck with how much the reconstituted mushrooms resembled ears! They have a wonderful, crunchy texture, but not much flavor (they are typically incorporated in hot-and-sour soup, or used as a main ingredient in salads with a strong dressing). They were a little bland in my soup bowl, but did have an interesting crunch.
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| The rehydrated Wood Ears resemble ears |
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| The soup was really bland, but the Wood Ear texture was very interesting |
August 30, 2026 🌞
Landscape Maintenance. I spent a lot of time in the landscape cutting back our many grass clumps in response to the Fire Prevention inspection in July. The inspector felt the long, dry grasses could pose a fire risk. This gave me the opportunity to learn how to trim the grasses, and we are now back in compliance and fire safe. In between trimming up grasses, our family has been enjoying lots of outdoor living. We can be found out on the patio most afternoons, whether in the midst of a heat spell, or on cool, foggy days. Here are few other maintenance tasks for August:
✘ Weed the garden paths and beds (ongoing task). Note: as part of the grass clump clean up, I removed quite a few grasses that were starting to encroach on the paths. This widened the paths back to their original dimensions.
✘ Sweep debris from surfaces throughout the yard.
✘ Clean up the stone walkway from the street to the house. Remove the weeds that pop up between the pavers, and that sneak into the planting beds and nearby cracks in the street (some people recommend spraying with vinegar to desiccate the leaves, although it may not kill the roots). Cut back the ground covers that spill over onto the pavers, and the grasses that spill over the path.
✘ Likewise, clean up the streetside, easement area for weeds and trash. There are some beautiful native plants in this area; prune or thin as needed to show them to their advantage. Add mulch or wood chips as needed. Note: I pulled a number of tall dandelion weeds from this area, but overall it looks like a lovely tapestry of plants.
🚫 Arrange for a pruning estimate to trim the oak. Note: we had the oak tree pruned last fall, and it still looks good – no branches overhanging the house or traffic. It will probably be good for another five years unless something changes. The rest of the trees and shrubs look good for now.
